Nick Carter is being sued for allegedly attacking a bouncer.
The 35-year-old Backstreet Boys singer was detained by police earlier this month on allegations of misdemeanour battery after the incident at Hog's Breath Saloon in Key West, Florida, where bouncer Skylar Carden claims Nick physically attacked and choked him.
In a statement on Carden's behalf, his attorney Mark G. DiCowden said: "Nick Carter has shown the world that he is nothing more than a Backstreet thug. Even though Nick Carter is a celebrity, he is no different from anyone else when it comes to respecting the rights of others."
The New York Post reports that the 21-year-old bouncer is seeking damages of over $15 000 as a result of "bodily injury, mental anguish [and] pain and suffering".
Nick broke his silence on the incident this week, writing on Twitter: "I am human and at times it can be a struggle to balance a healthy lifestyle. I'm not perfect and for that I am sorry.
"When we fall we have to get up and keep on walking. I hope you stay by my side and continue to walk with me."
It has been claimed that Nick was drinking alcohol at the bar and the singer, who is expecting his first child with wife Lauren Kitt, has overcome alcohol and drug addictions in the past.
He explained to Entertainment Tonight in November about kicking his habits: "I was gaining weight at the time, the colour in my face was gone. I was able to look in the mirror at one point and said to myself, 'I don't want to be that person that you turn on the television and they're saying, 'We feel really bad, because he died.' "
And speaking about the incident in Florida, his bandmate A.J. McLean said: "You know, he went out, had a couple drinks, and something unfortunately went array. It does happy. He's human, and people make mistakes. Lord knows I've made plenty of them.
"You kind of have to laugh these things, otherwise you're just going to mope around and hang your head low."
Bang Showbiz